BASF expanded its coating center recently by adding a tailor-made and flexible laboratory coating and laminating facility. The new coater facilitates the development of adhesive systems for flexible packaging, labels, tapes and functional film coatings. It increases the capacity for customer tests and speeds up the development of new products as well as the adaption of existing adhesive formulations to new carrier materials.

“By expanding our coating center, we are able to further strengthen our technical leadership and innovation power when it comes to water-based adhesive systems and UV acrylic hotmelts. Our mission is the long-term success of our customers,” explains Dr. Jürgen Pfister, head of Dispersions for Adhesives and Fiber Bonding Europe. The universal laboratory coater produces exact, reproducible coatings of water-based and UV acrylate hotmelt systems, only requiring a minimum quantity of one kilo of adhesive. The pre-treatment and lamination of a variety of film combinations is possible without any problems.

The center of competence for adhesive coatings is located in Ludwigshafen, the global headquarters of BASF. The coating experts closely cooperate with all relevant BASF R&D centers for adhesive raw materials and the respective regional business units. The competences and experiences of those who work in technical service, development, research and laboratory are assembled here. The centerpiece of the competence center is the existing pilot coater for dispersions. With a coating speed of 1,800 meters per minute the coating team holds the world record with this machine.

To further drive innovation, BASF invests every year more than €800,000 in the modernization and maintenance of its adhesive coating facilities. “Together with our customers we are working today on solutions to tomorrow’s problems,” said Andree Dragon, technical manager of the coating center.